Network equipment supplier Nokia and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi signed a patent licensing agreement on Wednesday, to “explore opportunities for further cooperation” in various fields. The companies aim to focus on augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, they said in a statement.
The financial terms of the multi-year patent deal were not disclosed.
The agreement includes cross-licensing to each company’s cellular standard patents. Nokia will provide network infrastructure equipment to cater to Xiaomi’s high-capacity, low-power requirements. The companies will work together on optical transport solutions for datacenter interconnect and IP routing.
“Xiaomi is one of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers, and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with them,” Nokia Chief Executive Rajeev Suri said.
The Finnish company already has license deals with leading handset makers such as Apple and Samsung Electronics, according to Reuters.
“Our collaboration with Nokia will enable us to tap into its leadership to build large, high-performance networks and formidable strength in software and services,” Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s chairman and chief executive officer, said.
Xiaomi, once the biggest smartphone manufacturer in China, has slipped in global rankings since 2014, Bloomberg reported. However, the company has been recording rapid growth in the Indian market – in 2016, it registered over $1 billion (around Rs 6,500 crore) in revenue. It has been granted 4,000 patents in the seven years since it was founded, 1,887 of which are overseas patents, CNBC reported.
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